A Vibrant Seattle Through Transportation Excellence.

This weekend, Seattle will remember the 20+ (and simply 20+ too many) crash-based fatalities as part of an international World Day of Remembrance. Around this time last year, you may have seen white silhouette cut-outs attached to street signs and light posts, organized by our partners at Seattle Neighborhood Greenways as a public memorial to visually represent traffic fatalities.

Each silhouette = a loved one lost.

It’s a sobering and powerful display to remind the us about public safety when it comes to traffic-related fatalities and injuries. It also reminds us what Vision Zero is all about, PEOPLE. It’s about our work as a transportation agency getting people – our family members, friends, neighbors, and colleagues safely around the city, no matter which form of travel taken.

In addition to Friday’s event, over the weekend, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways’ volunteers will be installing silhouettes to represent the 20+ people who have lost their lives in traffic crashes over the past 12 months.

For the 5th year in a row, we’re teaming up with Commute Seattle on a Light Up Your Ride event this Thurs. Nov. 2, 7–9 AM at Lake Union Park, right next to the Westlake bike path. It’s a free event, focused on safety and visibility. Oh, and…

THERE. WILL. BE. COFFEE!

And donuts!!

We’ll have free bike lights (front and rear) that are also handy to strap on to strollers, walkers, wheelchairs, backpacks, and keychains. Also, did we say FREE COFFEE and snacks, free bike repairs, and other giveaways!

Light Up Your Ride is one small, but critical, component of our Vision Zero initiative to end traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 2030. Events like this also support our long-term efforts to make bicycling in Seattle easier and more comfortable for people of all ages and abilities.

With daylight savings around the corner (set those clocks back this Sunday, Nov. 5), we’ll gain one extra hour of sleep, and a whole lot more darkness. Yay. As this time of year rolls around, it’s even more important to see and be seen. Stay safe, Seattle!

In a city already well-known for its breathtaking views, this fall as part of Art Interruptions 2017we proudly add 7 more extraordinary sights along the Delridge Neighborhood Greenway and Connector Trail in West Seattle. Now through January, we encourage you to view all 7 art installations by foot or bike, whether you are commuting to work or taking a pleasant weekend stroll. The artwork ranges from the whimsical to the thought provoking, incorporating themes of ecology, history and social justice.

On Saturday, October 7, 2017 we invite you to join us on a casual guided walk as we explore the art and meet the artists along the way. Hosted by the City of Seattle and led by Feet First from 10 a.m. to noon, the walk begins at Cottage Grove Park (5206 26th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106). Individuals of all ages and abilities are encouraged to join us for this artistic stroll through West Seattle!

Family Friendly Event

Face Painter!

Playground site for artwork scavenger hunt complete with sea creatures and prizes!

2 Casual guided walks will begin at 10am

1.8-mile tour of all 7 highlighted art pieces (Transportation back to Cottage Grove Park from tour end point will be provided for participants who need accommodations)

Three new schools with 1,500 students – Cascadia Elementary, Licton Springs K-8 and Robert Eagle Staff Middle Schools – opened this fall in north Seattle. With a lot of those kids walking and biking to school, they needed safety improvements around the new school campus.

New crosswalks at Meridian Ave N and N 105th St so kids can cross safely.

A new multi-use trail next to the campus as part of the N 92nd St neighborhood greenway

Protected bike lanes on N 92nd St and Meridian Ave N

New protected bike lanes

In addition, speed humps will be installed on all the streets around the school campus and new crosswalks will be marked on N 90th St. Parents and neighbors have also organized walking school buses for students, which helps relieve congestion at school drop-off and pick-up times.

People in several Seattle neighborhoods including Rainier Valley and Bitter Lake now have new road surfaces, thanks to the City’s 2017 Microsurfacing Program. Microsurfacing is a cost-effective way to extend the life of pavement by sealing minor cracks and other problems by applying a thin protective coating on roads – it’s just like painting your house to protect it!

This year, SDOT crews spent 10 days in August working on streets around future Neighborhood Greenways in Rainier Valley and in North Seattle, as well as in Bitter Lake, Wedgwood, and Ravenna-Bryant neighborhoods.

Two years ago, we redesigned a 1-mile stretch of Rainier Ave S in Columbia City and Hillman City to improve safety for all travelers. We’ve seen great results, including reduced speeds and collisions, so we’re looking to extend those safety gains further south along the corridor with Phase 2 of the project. Improving safety on high crash corridors like Rainier is a key element of our Vision Zero effort to end traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 2030.

Last month, we shared two Phase 2 design options for community consideration. This walking tour (which will include a bus ride too!) offers a great opportunity share your thoughts on the project.

So, the details:

What: Rainier Ave S Vision Zero Safety Project Walking Tour

When: Saturday, Sept 9

10 AM – Noon

Where: Tour starts at Fire Station 28

5968 Rainier Ave S

Seattle, WA 98118

This is a walking tour (approximately 1 mile) that will include a ride on Metro Route 7. Regular fare is $2.50 with exact change or an ORCA card. The tour will end at the Mt. Baker light rail station, where we’ll also be working on the Accessible Mt. Baker project to improve access and safety in the area.

Microsurfacing will soon bring “new” life to roads in several Seattle neighborhoods!

Microsurfacing is a protective seal coat which extends the life of pavement. This is a cost-effective method to renew the road surface and seal minor cracks and other irregularities. Like painting a house, microsurfacing creates a protective layer which preserves the underlying structure and minimizes the need for more expensive repairs in the future.

Starting on August 14, crews working for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will carry out the City’s 2017 Microsurfacing Program in several parts of town. The project will improve the surface of streets on the future Rainier and North Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, and in areas of Bitter Lake, Wedgwood and Ravenna-Bryant.

Click on a neighborhood link below for street maps of work areas and dates:

Microsurfacing seals minor cracks with a coating that’s only about one-quarter inch thick. It protects the pavement and extends the life of neighborhood streets. This helps the city avoid larger and more expensive repairs later.

Microsurfacing is considered a cost-effective way to restore a road surface and extend the life of the street by 7 to 10 years. This year’s program is funded through the city’s Real Estate Excise Tax (REET).

People who live or work in the work zones should have received a letter about what to do to prepare for the project, such as moving your vehicles off the street. To learn more about microsurfacing, and to see maps of all the specific streets being resurfaced this summer, please check out www.seattle.gov/transportation/Microsurfacing.htm.

To meet our Vision Zero goal of reaching zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries on Seattle streets by 2030, we are proposing safety improvements in the Little Saigon neighborhood. In the last few years, there have been 40 crashes in Little Saigon, at the intersections of Rainier Ave S/S King St and S Weller St/12th Ave S. Several crashes at S Weller St and 12th Ave S involved people walking.

Our proposed safety improvements include:

Installing a median and restricting left turns on Rainier Ave S at S King St

Upgrading a pedestrian activated signal to full signal at S Weller St and Rainier Ave S

Adding a left turn arrow to signal on 12th Ave S at S Weller St

These improvements can help reduce crashes and make it easier for people to safely get around the Little Saigon neighborhood. Information is available in Vietnamese as well.

Project map

Schedule

We’re planning to build these improvements as soon as 2018 and are currently working with Friends of Little Saigon and businesses to make sure they understand why changes are needed, can continue efficient delivery operations, and to make sure their customers can still easily get to them.

Project coordination

This project is coordinating with a nearby Neighborhood Greenways project to make walking and biking more comfortable. We’re engaging with community members in Chinatown/International District, Little Saigon, and Judkins Park this summer to share what we’ve heard; and to get input on the most promising route. To learn more about the project, visit our website; or stop by our booth at the July 15 and 16 Dragon Fest.

When you’re riding a bike (or travelling by any means, for that matter) an unexpected change in the path can be challenging to navigate. With our city in the midst of a construction boom, impacts to roadways, sidewalks and bike lanes are more common than ever. That’s why, starting this week, conditions for construction permitapproval include on-site signage 72 hours in advance for work that closes or impacts a bike lane or trail.

We coordinate the work of contractors on both public and private projects, and require that bike lanes and sidewalks be kept open to the full extent possible during a project. We also now require enhanced on-site notification of impacts.

The signs must be waterproof, have the project start date, end date, and, if the closure is not 24 hours per day, daily closure times, in accordance with the City of Seattle Traffic Control Manual for In-Street Work. That way, people riding bikes or walking in Seattle can plan alternate routes.

For work that will close or impact a Neighborhood Greenway or a non-arterial bicycle route, a “Road Work Ahead” or “Road Work (distance)” sign must be placed at the adjacent streetintersections. The temporary signs cannot impede access or safety. Plus, if closure of a Greenway is longer than a calendar month, the contractor must contact Summer Jawson of the SDOT Greenways Program at Summer.Jawson@Seattle.gov at least 5 calendar days prior to the closure.

Permit applicants may want to consult the SDOT Neighborhood Greenways map in advance of work, to identify potentially impacted Greenways.

Advanced notification of work will be enforced for all new impacts – from a new project seeking a permit to a current project entering a new phase.

Miniature horses, an aluminum can collage, and painted street signs are just some of the extraordinary sights popping up along Rainier Valley neighborhood greenways as part of Art Interruptions.

Art Interruptions will be on display now through January 2017.

This annual art program, created by the Office of Arts & Culture in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation, is designed to create moments of surprise and reflection, interrupting our everyday routines. The works will be on display now through January, in neighborhoods including New Holly, Othello, Brighton, Lakewood, and Seward Park.

You can explore the artwork on your own, or join the artists for a tour on October 1 as Seattle kicks off WALKTOBER. The event is hosted by Feet First on Saturday, October 1, 2016, from 10 a.m. to noon, at John C. Little Sr. Park (6961 37th Ave S), more info here.